Tilting multi-wheeled vehicles, in particular, tilting three wheeled vehicles with two front wheels are operated like motorcycles where such vehicles lean into a turn. Unlike motorcycles, an added extra wheel in front provides additional traction for improved stopping and control of the vehicle on slippery surfaces. This type of vehicle is usually lighter, and can be made narrower than a non-titling three or four wheeled vehicle.
Double Cardan joints are similar to double Cardan shafts, except that the length of the intermediate shaft is shortened leaving only the yokes; this effectively allows the two Hooke's joints to be mounted back to back. DCJs are typically used in steering columns, as they eliminate the need to correctly phase the universal joints at the ends of the intermediate shaft (IS), which eases packaging of the IS around the other components in the engine bay of the car. They are also used to replace Rzeppa style constant-velocity joints in applications where high articulation angles, or impulsive torque loads are common, such as the driveshafts and halfshafts of rugged four wheel drive vehicles. Double Cardan joints require a centering element that will maintain equal angles between the driven and driving shafts for true constant velocity rotation. This centering device requires additional torque to accelerate the internals of the joint and does generate some additional vibration at higher speeds.
The Thompson constant velocity joint (TCVJ), also known as a Thompson coupling, assembles two cardan joints within each other to eliminate the intermediate shaft. A control yoke is added to keep the input, and output shafts aligned. The control yoke uses a spherical pantograph scissor mechanism to bisect the angle between the input and output shafts and to maintain the joints at a relative phase angle of zero. The alignment ensures constant angular velocity at all joint angles. Eliminating the intermediate shaft and keeping the input shafts aligned in the homokinetic plane greatly reduces the induced shear stresses and vibration inherent in double cardan shafts
The patent document JP2011021667 refers to enhance the rigidity and strength of a coupling yoke in a double cardan joint. This double cardan joint includes the coupling yoke, and a socket yoke and a pin yoke connected singingly to respective ends of the coupling yoke via a cross shaft. The coupling yoke includes a base ring, and a pair of supports projected at respective shaft-directional ends of the base ring. The pair of supports have support holes engaged with a shaft of the cross shaft, and tips of the paired supports are connected to each other by an adjacent part.
The other document JP2003120708 discloses a method for easily manufacturing a yoke for a double cardan type universal joint. This yoke forms an elongated blank 10 having five areas constituted in the lengthwise direction by cutting a metallic plate, and these constituted areas are a central area, two end area, and intermediate areas positioned between the central area and the respective two end areas. The two end areas become an installing part of a shaft by mutually overlapping by bending the elongated blank, and a pivot member to be installed in the central area of the elongated blank is put in the aligning relationship in the shaft direction to the shaft. Bores 28 and for installing a cross piece for rotatably installing the yoke in a joining member are preferably arranged in the intermediate area.
According to the document JPH11241730 to inexpensively manufacture a coupling yoke simple in molding and having high strength by projecting arm parts from a semi-cylindrical part to both the sides in a shaft direction, providing two half ring members having holes at the tip parts of the arm parts and welding the half ring members each other. A coupling yoke is provided with two plane symmetrical half ring members. The half ring member is constituted of a semi-cylindrical shaped semi-cylindrical part and a substantially semi-circular arm part extending from the center part of this semi-cylindrical part to both sides of a shaft direction. The arm part is provided with a pin hole into/through which each cross pin is inserted/passed. At both the ends of the semi-cylindrical part, bevels are provided, the bevels of the two semi-cylindrical parts are allowed to abut each other and the two half ring members are integrally joined by welding. As a result, the coupling yoke 1 is easily molded and is inexpensive and strong.
The document JPH11218149 describes a coupling yoke in a double cardan joint, easy to manufacture and low in cost with good material yield. A coupling yoke is provided with a cylindrical member formed by cutting a pipe, and a pair of nearly rectangular plates formed by cutting a band steel plate or blanking a steel plate. Holes are opened in both ends of each plate. The center parts of the plates are overlapped and welded to the cylindrical member so as to oppose the plates to each other.
According to the invention WO2006061663 the technical field of an engine comprises a body with four cylinders, which are double-row installed, along axes of which pistons are in a reciprocal motion. The pistons by means of rods hingedly engage with yoke, which is hingedly installed in the body with a possibility of rocking. The yoke, in turn, is hingedly connected to a wobbler, which is installed by means of bearing on a main shaft of the engine with an inclination with respect to its rotary axis. When looking at the engine cutting, which is perpendicularly carried out with respect to the rotary axis of the main shaft, a medium point of each hinge, providing with an engagement of the yoke with the wobbler, is placed in an angle sector, which is formed, between medium points of the hinges, providing with the engagement of the yoke with rods. In case of the invention realization in accordance with one of its embodiments a connection of the yoke with the wobbler is accomplished by means of spherical of cardan, hinge, and it gives a capability to move the yoke with respect to an oscillating center of the wobbler, and it, in turn, provides with a capability of compression ratio change in the engine cylinders. In case of the invention realization in accordance with another its embodiment the main shaft of the engine and the wobble-yoke unit are replaced out of zone of placing the cylinders with an installation in the same or additional body formation, and the yoke is designed with an elongated axis of rocking and is provided with a rocker, which is connected with the pistons or with joint rods.
The system has a journal cross assembly mounted in double yokes, with two yoke parts each with a foot and a bearing part for the cross journals. The foot parts are connected via coupling faces, and have facing complementary first toothed sections, and there are second toothed sections at an angle to the first. Each foot part is formed as a full flange and is connected flush to the bearing part. The journal, cross assembly has two journal systems, relatively offset through 90°, and each with two journals, which are offset through 180° and are positioned on a common axis in parallel planes. Each bearing part has a blind bore for the journals. For heavy-duty cardan shafts. Requires less space, simple fabrication and assembly which has been stated in document of patent application DE102004017104.
The document US2012178541 describes in the existing integral-type coupling yoke, the base portion from which the flange portions protrude is formed of a block-like thick wall portion; however, in the case where the drive-side yoke and the driven-side yoke, which are coupled by the coupling yoke, are spaced apart slightly, when the length of the base portion is extended in the axial direction in order to ensure torsional stiffness, the overall weight of the coupling yoke increases accordingly. As the weight increases, the inertia moment of the coupling yoke increases, so a loss of energy at the time when driving force is transmitted from the drive-side yoke to the driven-side yoke increases.
The document US2006005393 illustrates a method for manufacturing a combined driveshaft tube and yoke assembly includes the initial step of orienting a first component having a first wall thickness and a second component having a second wall thickness to define an overlap region. The first and second components may have the same or different wall thicknesses, may be formed from the same or different materials, and may have the same or different lengths. Portions of the first and second components are deformed to provide the overlap region with a third wall thickness that is the sum of the first, wall thickness and the second wall thickness. Lastly, a pair of yoke arms having respective openings there through is formed in the overlap region to provide a combined driveshaft tube and yoke assembly. A pair of combined driveshaft tube and yoke assembly can also be manufactured in accordance with this method.
The document 5609/CHENP/2008 states the yoke member of cardan joint is made in one unitary part of one piece and includes a pivot fork including two pivot arm portions each comprising a crossing hole, the axis of which is the pivot axis of a cross-piece, and a connecting element for the motion transmission shaft and having two tightening portions connected via a junction portion. Each of the two tightening portions comprises a tightening hole. Four reinforcing appendices are arranged on the tightening portions and opposite one another in pairs to form together with the portions a housing for the motion transmission shaft. The yoke member is stamped in order to give it the desired thickness in highly stressed and lowly stressed regions.
None of these above patents, however alone or in combination, disclose the present invention. The invention consists of certain novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter folly described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.